BETTER LIFE

DIVING WITH SHARKS by Nigel Marsh and Andy Murch, New Holland

In the 1950s divers entered the deep as spearfishers and avoided sharks who were seen as man-eaters. By the 1970s spears were swapped for cameras. This guide by Australian photographer Marsh and Canada-based animal diver Murch, is for “all the wonderful people in the world who want to save sharks”. Angel, Basking, Bamboo, through to the bearded Wobbegongs, who lie at the bottom snatching anything edible, this will float your boat.

O’S LITTLE GUIDE TO THE BIG QUESTIONS, by The Editors of The Oprah Magazine, Pan Macmillan

Twenty-six writers tackle five big subjects: How do I live a full life? What about love? Can I handle the hard times? What really matters? What does it all mean? In the last chapter Terry Tempest Williams talks of the blank journals her mother left her when she died. “Shelf after shelf after shelf, all blank. In many ways, they are a Buddhist koan, a question that can never be answered, only held up to the light.”

THE NORDIC THEORY OF EVERYTHING by Anu Partanen, Bloomsbury

Fascinating journey with Finnish journalist Anu, who struggled coming to terms with why everyday basics – buying a mobile, filing taxes – in the new US home she loves were so complicated and stressful; she going from confident to a self-doubting mess. Yet, “Coming to America I felt exhilarated, all the windows had been opened to reveal a carnival.” Her conclusion: if the burden of making enough money in the US, versus the Nordic quality of life were to change, “I might stay forever.”

THE ART OF HAPPINESS by The Dalai Lama, Hachette

“May you find happiness,” is the dedication in the handbook first published 20 years ago. The book is split into five sections, including The Purpose of Life and Overcoming Obstacles, the latter of which teaches how to deal with anxiety. Co-author psychiatrist Howard Cutler asked His Holiness about the “me” decade of the 1980s. “Self-confidence may seem like arrogance, but based on sound reasons [bringing happiness and accomplishing great goals] I would consider them heroes.”